Gerald Hawting's book has long been acknowledged as the standard introductory survey of this complex period in Arab and Islamic history. Now it is once more made available, with the addition of a new introduction by the author which examines recent significant contributions to scholarship in the field. It is certain to be welcomed by students and academics alike.

1. Introduction: The importance of the Umayyad period and its place in Islamic history Islamisation Arabisation The Umayyads in Muslim tradition 2. The Umayyad family and its rise to the Caliphate The background of the Umayyads Mu'awiya's aquisition of the Caliphate 3. The Sufyanids Organisation and administration of the Caliphate events and prsonalities of the Sufyanid period 4. The Second Civil War 5. 'Abd al-Malik and al-Hajjaj Changes in government and administratioin Al-Hajjaj in Iraq 6. The Development of Factionalism and the problems of Islamisation The family of al-Muhallab and the development of factionalism 'Umar II and the Mawali Hisham and Kahlid al-Qasri 7. The Third Civil War and the Caliphate of Marwan II Walid II Yazid III Marwan II 8. The Overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate The Muslims of Khurasan The Army The 'Abbasids and the `ashimiyya The Umayyad collapse